The previous season of Titans culminated with the costumed crimefighters defeating Scarecrow in Gotham City and consequently piling into an RV to travel back home to their own stomping grounds, San Francisco. Season 4 picks up with the Titans making a pit stop in Metropolis so that Conner can finally meet Superman. Conner is a clone created from the DNA of Lex Luthor and his Kryptonian rival, Superman. Unfortunately, the Man of Steel is away on a mission and, instead, Conner gets invited for a rendezvous with Lex. Superboy agrees to it and gets more than he bargained for.
The show's central villainy this year comes courtesy of Brother Blood, a cult leader with supernatural abilities that threaten the Titans and the rest of the world. Showrunner Greg Walker recently spoke to CBR about the origin of Brother Blood, this season's horror element, Conner's ties to Lex, the evolution of the heroes, and the appearance of Stargirl.
CBR: When you were breaking this season, how did you want to differentiate it from previous ones?
Greg Walker: We wanted to make it the same as a few seasons ago, first of all. We wanted to go back to a road trip, which we really loved in Season 1 because it doesn't keep us in one place all the time. We are on the road. Ontario is so beautiful. It was great to get out on the road during the winter in Season 1. We get out during the winter and summer in Season 4.
We also wanted to once again touch upon horror, which we dipped a toe or two into in Season 1. We wanted to bring that back. It spoke to Rachel and where we were going. It was a natural aspect of the show that we wanted to explore because the Titans are not very good at fighting it. Supernatural foes are not something they have really encountered besides Trigon, and horror is so fun and cool to play with as a toy. It's a challenge to execute with the physical-effects level and VFX level and very expensive to do but very gratifying. So, there's lots of blood, lots of gore, snakes, and things that make you shiver. That was fun.
Then, we wanted to go to a new area, which is we really wanted to be Titans-specific and centric this year. We wanted to focus on the characters. We have a very strong villain, or villains, with Mother Mayhem and Brother Blood, but we wanted to explore some Titans' arcs and relationships in the bigger theme of destiny. Who are they meant to be, and do you have a say in it?
Let's hit up the villains. What made now the right time to introduce Lex Luthor on the show?
In going through Metropolis, which we were wanting to do on our road trip, you can't go to Metropolis without dealing with one of the two main inhabitants there. One of them is off in another galaxy, but on a deeper level, exploring the duality of Conner, it mandated that we [in] some way deal with the Lex of him. In our show, Conner is growing into adolescence. He hasn't been on Earth very long. He was in a test tube before. Now, we are exploring who he is and understanding his destiny. You can't get to that destination without going through some Lex business.
Conner has some extreme daddy issues.
In an episode you haven't seen, one character accuses the other of going through "some peak daddy issues."
Regarding Brother Blood/Sebastian, you've stated this season will map out his origin. Why did you want to start there? Should the audience feel some type of sympathy for him?
Sympathy, crudely -- more to the point, some understanding. I think dropping a fully-fleshed villain into our world is simply less interesting to us as writers than exploring who someone is. In a season that is about destiny, understanding somebody who felt unseen, like in the case of Sebastian, and had dreams of greatness... and then coming to understand those are not dreams but predictions, and he has to embrace this dark side of himself to get there… watching that journey seemed more interesting.
In what ways is he going to test the Titans, both as heroes and individuals?
As heroes, he has powers and an ability to end the world in a way they have not faced before. As individuals, they see a side of Sebastian that makes them conflicted about what his true nature is. So they have to work their way through that.
Looking at our heroes, what does Dick still have to learn about being a leader?
He has to learn how to be a leader at this point, is the answer. Because of his daddy issues, because of his relationship with Bruce, he has been focused on his own story… and rightly so. There's been a lot to figure out. Now that that has cleared up, for the most part, he can explore who he is as a leader and his role as a paternal figure and as a co-leader with Kory of the Titans. He can focus on that. So, now is the right time for him to deal with the Titans as a family in a way he was not capable of before.
Kory came to Earth for a specific purpose. What keeps her here?
Kory pressed the big red button on the side of your PVR to reset her life last year after understanding her role and her relationship with Blackfire. Everything gets reset. She has a new color of power. What does that mean? It's a season where Kory is really starting fresh. She has a chance to go, "What's the next chapter?" What she doesn't realize is that it's already been written, and she has to discover what it is.
Similar to Blood and Mother Mayhem, Raven has ties to the supernatural. What is her arc this season? How connected is she to what is going on?
Raven is getting more and more grounded as we go. After her experience in Themyscira and coming back, Rachel is really becoming the barometer of both the emotional climate of the Titans and the threats out there in the world. She is really becoming a character Dick can rely on. She's an empath that understands the world of the supernatural in a way that he can't.
Ryan Potter co-penned an episode with Geoff Johns. What kind of story did they want to tell?
We never really spotlighted Gar, except for a portion of one episode. We never really addressed a lot of what his destiny is meant to be. If you look at these fragmented pieces and what you know about Gar -- he found his way into the Doom Patrol, meets the Titans, goes off with the Titans -- they seem to be fairly linear but without a controlling idea. What he understands this year is there is a controlling idea, and it could lead him to a greater destiny if he's willing to accept it.
Stargirl's Brec Bassinger posted a picture of herself on the Titans set.
I heard. I heard all about it.
What can you tease about her appearance, about this crossover?
I know nothing about it because Geoff Johns works in mysterious ways. All I know is there was a rogue unit when I left Toronto. I saw what you did, too. I am waiting to see the film. Maybe it's all a big hoax and fake news.
To defeat Brother Blood, the team is going to have to come together like never before. How close are we to finally getting that iconic "Titans together!" battle cry?
We have to wait for that for a season. We will have to find a way to do it. We will have to put it through the Titans' grounded meat grinder and figure out a way for it to organically come up. We have to sell the cast on it, but you know what? Anything is possible. We will put that in the mix for next season.
Titans Season 4 releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO Max.